Brexit
The Brief, powered by VDMA – The lost art of diplomacy
There is nothing like a break-up to prompt a few rounds of point-scoring and petty one-upmanship. The Brexit divorce process is more giving than most. The UK may be over and out of the bloc, legally at least, but there...
The Brief – Rotting in the docks
The images of then UKIP leader Nigel Farage floating in a dinghy on the River Thames – encountering a flotilla of Remainers led by Bob Geldof and doling out profanity like candy – is one of the memories of the...
The Brief – Letter from the UK
Two days after the UK left the EU’s single market, England was placed into its third national lockdown on 3 January, joining Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland who had already imposed their own restrictions. With people confined to their homes...
Don’t forget about Europe’s Northern Partners
In designing the European security architecture, how can Norwegian and EU priorities in defence and security be prudently squared against one another to ensure that both sides mutually benefit from the partnership, ask Kinga Brudzinska and Lucia Rybnikárová.
The Brief, powered by Facebook – A journey without destination
You can tell that it’s squeaky bum time, as Alex Ferguson was so fond of saying. Industry groups and think-tanks are rushing to the printers to publish warnings of doom for their sector if Boris Johnson and the EU decide they can’t or won’t compromise on a post-Brexit trade deal in the next few days.
The Brief – The triumph of the political will
With wearisome predictability, the talks on a post-Brexit EU-UK trade deal will come down to one final last week of negotiations, with a summit in Brussels at the end of it, on 19 November. Both sides say they are nearly there. A deal “is there to be done”, says UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson.
Fish and Brexit chips
Boris Johnson's government should beware of pinning an entire EU-UK trade deal on fisheries, the issue of energy is far more serious and important, writes Alexander Temerko.
The Channel Tunnel: the other Brexit border?
On 8 October 2020, the European Parliament approved legislation to ensure safe Channel Tunnel operations post-Brexit transition. In addition to COVID-19, Brexit will have far-reaching consequences for cross-Channel border connections. History highlights what is at stake.
The Brief, powered by logos – One last Mexican stand-off
It was perhaps inevitable that after more than four years (longer if you include David Cameron’s ill-fated attempt to renegotiate the UK’s EU membership status), the Brexit process would end with one last Mexican stand-off. And so it goes that...
The UK, the EU and fisheries: if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!
Just as Europeans aren’t asking for the sacrifice of British businesses in order to maintain access to the EU single market, we cannot accept the sacrifice of our fishermen, write Pierre Karleskind, Nathalie Loiseau and 57 other MEPs.
Johnson and ‘no deal’ Brexit
Boris Johnson's large majority has not made him immune from the demands of the eurosceptic European Research Group in his party, argues Brendan Donnelly, warning that that makes a 'no deal' scenario more likely.
The Brief – Don’t forget about the fish
A golden rule in politics is that the most belligerent rhetoric presages a climbdown. As lawmakers in Westminster passed a bill that would break the Withdrawal Agreement with the EU, accompanied with the usual bellicose statements about ‘taking back control’,...
The Brief, powered by amfori – A gamble too far
It’s the wise gambler who knows when his luck is about to run out. Boris Johnson always assumes that his luck is in and, so far, his faith has been rewarded. But his threat to break the Withdrawal Agreement looks like a gamble too far.
Why a deal on energy could break the Brexit logjam
The window for a post-Brexit trade deal is closing fast but the basics are already in place for an agreement on the energy sector, and mutual benefits would be huge, writes Michael Grubb.
Solidarity is needed on EU citizenship as well as on COVID-19
The response by EU leaders to the COVID-19 crisis suggests that solidarity is on the rise. But what about solidarity between Europe’s own citizens, and the 65 million Britons who face losing their rights to EU citizenship? A group of authors provide their thoughts.
The Brief – Poking the Bear
It only took a few short months for the accusation that the 2016 Brexit referendum was rigged, unfair and corrupt to start doing the rounds. This week, Boris Johnson’s government finally published the Parliament’s Intelligence and Security Committee report, which...
The Brief – Global Britain: We’re just not that into EU
As vacuous slogans go, ‘Global Britain’, launched when Theresa May took over Brexit Britain from David Cameron in 2016, has been hard to beat. In 2018, UK lawmakers urged the government to set out what its international partners could expect...
EU-UK cross-border data flows: New digital walls for the economy?
Data needs to continue to flow between the UK and the EU. The EU should limit safeguards to only those needed to protect personal data, writes Andrea Giuricin.
The Brief – Ambition alone won’t pay the EU’s COVID-19 bill
Back in the dog days of 2012 and 2013, even the best friends of Jose Manuel Barroso and Herman van Rompuy – then running the EU show – would have struggled to argue that their EU budget blueprint was ambitious. It was deliberately and consciously timid.
Negotiating a new EU-UK partnership in challenging times
It is now nearly two months since the United Kingdom left the European Union. It left with the legal certainty and clarity provided by the Withdrawal Agreement and the accompanying Political Declaration, writes MEP David McAllister.
Boris Johnson is more focused on Brexit than coronavirus
Boris Johnson's obsession with obtaining a Brexit deal in June has over-ridden the need to act decisively in response to Coronavirus. But the signs of panic are emerging, writes Denis MacShane.
Britons in Europe are disenfranchised while their EU counterparts’ rights hang in the balance
The French municipal elections which will take place on 16 March are the first since President Macron was elected and an important test of his popularity. They are also the first set of municipal elections in which British citizens in France will be unable to vote.
Ireland needs a stable government for the post-Brexit negotiations
The post-Brexit negotiations with the UK are particularly vital for Ireland and dealing with them requires a stable government in office, writes Dick Roche.